Woodworking machine



WOODWORKING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1924 V 4 Sheets-Sheet l vVey/@ek v/MQ, y l addy.

Dec. 27, 1932. N L. GULUFORD 1,892,651

WOODWORKING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 27, 1932. N. l.. GULLIFORD WOODWORKING MACHINE Filed March 29. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 27, 1932. N, GULUFORD 1,892,651

WOODWORKING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1924 4 Sheets-.Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTV OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR OF SAID NICHOLAS L. GULLIFORD, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TO GULLIFORD WOOD HEEL COMPANY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, A FIRM GOM'EOSED OF ARCHIBALD T. GULLIFORD AND PEARCE H. GULLIFORD WOODWORKING MACHINE Application led March 29, 1924. Serial No. 702,949.

My invention relates'to wood-working machines and particularly to machines for use in makingwood heels for-boots and shoes.

In the process of making a wood heel several operations are performed includingblocking, grooving, turning, concaving, grading and breasting, in order tocomplete the shaping thereof. The blocking operation produces the Wooden blank that is to be made into a heel; the grooving operation partly shapes the breast end of the block; the turning` operation shapes the sides and back of the block; the concaving operation shapes the top of the block; the grading operation shapes the bottom or lower end of the block and gives tothe heel its proper length, while the final breasting operation properly shapes the exterior of the shank lip at the top of the breast. These several operations are performed by different machines, the wood blank being transferred from one to another as the process progresses, and all of these machines have heretofore been manually operated and controlled by the operator to present the work to the cutter. Also, it will be obvious that the above described mode of procedure requires accurate positioning` and gauging of the work after t-he initial grooving operation, that is, during the turning and subsequent operations, in order that the dierent surfaces of the finished heel will be properly` disposed relatively. In practice, however, this accuracy of position is not always obtained mainly for the reason that in all of these machines the breast end of the block is engaged by the gauge or positioning device of each machine andV this breast end sometimesowing tochatter of the grooving cutter orvother causes-is deformed so that said end does not properly enga-ge or seat against the gauge or positioning device. This improper positioning seldom occurs in the turning machine because of the construction of the gauge or positioning device thereof but in the concaving and other machines Which employ positioning devices of other kinds it does occur. As a result the surfaces of a. finished heel Willnot always bear the proper relationship which is, of course, highly objectionable. This imperfect relationship is also sometimes occasioned by the presi ence of a comparatively small amount of dust or wood between the breast end of the wood block and the gauge which prevents the block seating properly against said gauge. y

Furthermore, grooving machines asI heretofore provided haveV been so constructed as -to require the operator to accurately posi- My invention has for its object to provide an improved machine for grooving wood heel blocks which will be rapid, and in great part automatic, in its operation; which will turn out more groovedblocks in a given time than has been possible with the machines heretofore provided, and which will so shape the breast endof the block as to ensure accurate positioning thereof when subjected to the operations of turning, concaving, etc.

To these ends my invention consists of ar heel block grooving machine having the peculiar features of construction and mode of operation set forth in the following description, the novel features of my invention being particularly pointed out and defined inY the claims at the close of said description.

In the accompanying drawings wherein is shown, merely for illustrative purposes, one embodiment of my invention :v

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a heel block grooving machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View, partly in section, and on larger scale, of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a developed section on line L-4 of Fig. l.

Figure 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3 with the additionv of some part-s not shown inthe latter.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a wood heel block before it is operated upon by my machine.

Figure 7 is a similar view showing the block after being operated upon, the transverse curve of the breast end being slightly exaggerated for the purposes of illustration.

Figure 8 shows the roughing cutter hereinafter described.

Figure 9 shows the finishing cutter hereinafter described.

Th e invention principally comprises a workholding member and a work-shaping member, one of which is movable past the other in a curved path whose concave face is toward the work-shaping member and in the embodiment of my invention herein shown there is a continuously moving work holding carrier consisting of a fiat metal ring 1 which may have an inside diameter of three feet. This carrier 1 is rotatably supported by Aan annular table 2 supported from the ground or floor by four legs, three of said legs, indicated at 3, 4 and 5, being grouped together at one side of the table, and the remaining leg 6 being at the opposite side thereof.

The carrier 1 is made upon its under side with an annular gib 7 slidably mounted within an annular groove 8 formed in the top side of table 2, whereby the carrier is held against lateral displacement on the table and caused to rotate about a fixed center. The under side of the carrier 1 and the top side of table 2 are preferably recessed to provide an annular lubricant-holding cavity 9 as shown in Fig. 3.

The outer periphery of carrier 1 is made with gear teeth 10 engaged by a driving pinion 11 fast on the upper end of a vertical shaft 12 journaled in bearing on the frame of the machine. Near its lower end this shaft is connected through gears 13 and 14 with a hori- Zontal shaft 15 carrying a tight pulley 16 and a loose pulley 17, said pulleys co-operating with a driving belt, not shown. Through this mechanism the carrier 1 is continuously rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.

Rigidly secured in position upon the top side of carrier 1 is a plurality of brackets 18 equally spaced around the carrier, each of said brackets being formed with an upright wall or side 19 Which, as will appear later, serves as one aw of a work positioning clamp that also asists in holding the work against displacement under the thrust of the cutters of Athe machine. The other jaw of this clamp movable jaw 20 is a comparatively lightv coiled spring 25, while at the opposite side of block 23 the link 22 is threaded to receive upon it two stop nuts 26. The lever 24 is pivotally connected at one end with the carrier 1 by a pintle 26 mounted in an adjacent bracket 18 and has its free end made as a clamping jaw 27 adapted to engage the wood block. A spring 28 supports the lever 24 normally in an elevated position with its aw 20 at the limit of its movement away from the jaw 19 as shown at the right in Fig. 4. As will be clear there are twelve levers 24 and associated parts mounted upon the top of carrier 1 providing a corresponding number of work holders. It is to be understood that the workholding or clamping members are not limited to the particular' types shown.

A wood block such as that from which a wood heel is made is shown at W in Fig. 6, and during the operation of the machine the attendant, occupying a position at A, Fig. 1. places one of these blocks W upon carrier 1 between the two jaws 19 and 2O of each workholder as the latter passes position A, said block being shoved or slid inwardly with its breast end facing toward the axis of the carricr, until said breast end strikes against a stationary gauge 29 fastened to the frame of the machine. From tl e position A the work holder travels with carrier 1 in the direction of the arrow, passing into position under an arcuate stationary cam track 30, and while said holder is beneath said track it moves past a. rotary roughing cutter head 31 and then past a rotary finishing cutter head 32.

llVhen the work holder has reached a position beyond the finishing cutter head 32 it passes from beneath the cam track 30 and reaches a position at B. Here a blast of air 34 blows the finished block W oft' from the carrier 1 and into a receptacle 33 which may be a barrel or box resting upon the floor. This blast of air issues continuously from a nozzle 35 connected with a source of air under pressure which source is indicated at 36, Fig. 1. Thus, the only service required of the attendant is that of picking` up the blocks with one hand and placing them in the work-holders with the other. Consequently the machine can be operated at a comparatively high rate of speed with an output equal to that of several skilled operators.

Each work-holding lever 24 has fastened to it, near its free end, a comparatively stiff multiple-leaf spring 3i', and as said lever leaves positon A and pases into positon under cam track 30 this spring serves as a means through which the cam track swings the lever downwardly. During the first part of this downward movement of the lever the latter acts through the spring 25 and jaw 20 to shove the wood block sidewise snugly against the jaw 19 so as to cause it to occupy a truely radial position with respect to the axis of the carrier 1l. Thereafter as the lever 24 completes its downward swing, its outer free end 27 is brought to bear firmly upon the top of the wood block l thereby clamping the latter' immovably to the carrier l after it has been positioned laterally by the jaw 20.

The gauge 29 is shaped as a cam as shown clearly in Fig. l, the end thereof farthest from the cam track 30 being at a greater distance from the carrier l than its other end, and the latter being located co-incident with the path that the inner breast ends of the blocksare to travel in moving past the cutters 3l and 32. Thus, after the attendant has placed a block in position at A, and the block is carried away from that position by the movement of the carrier, a slight outward movement is imparted to the blockV by the cam 29 which properly positions said block with respect to its distance from the axis of the carrier. This adjustment of the block is, of course, effected by the cam gauge 29 just prior to the engagement of the block by the end 27 of the lever 24. Cam 29, t 1erefore, makes it unnecessary for the attendant to accurately position the block radially, all that is required being that the attendant shove the block inwardly on the carrier as far as he is permitted to do so by said gauge 29.

In order to adapt the machine to operate upon heel blocks of different heights, provision is herein made for vertical adjustment of the cam track 30. To this end said cam track is made fast to three brackets 37 loosely and slidably mounted upon upright rods or bars 38 disposed in three pairs, one pair for each bracket. These bars 38 are fixed to and supported by the legs 3, 4 and 5 and have their upper ends threaded to receive upon them nuts 39 which are in the form of sprocket wheels engaged by a single endless chain 40. One of these sprockets is compounded with a hand wheel 41 by means of which, together with chain 40, all of said sprocket wheel nuts may be simultaneously and correspondingly adjusted rotatively to raise or lower the cam track.

Springs 42 surrounding -rods 38 serve to yieldingly support the brackets 37 against the sprocket nuts 39.

The finishing cutter 32, Figs. 2, 3 and 9, is mounted at the upper end of an upright spindie 43 journaled in bearings provided upon a bracket 44 mounted in vertical ways provided upon a bracket supporting frame 45, and at its lower end is seated upon, and supported with provision for vertical adjustment by, a screw 46 on said frame. Also, the spindle 43, at its lower end, is seated upon, and supported with provision for vertical adjustment, by a screw 47 carried by bracket 44. The bracket supporting frame is pivotally mounted at one side thereof upon the inner rod 38 of the table leg 4 so as to provide for adjustment of cutter 32 toward and from the path of the wood blocks. At its opposite side the bracket supporting frame 45 has swivelly mounted upon it an interiorly threaded eye 48, Fig. 5, engaged by the inner threaded end of a screw 49. The outer end portion of screw 49 extends loosely through an eye 50 swivelly connected with the frame of the machine, and at one side of this eye there is a collar 5l and at the opposite side a hand wheel 52, both fast on said screw. This screw 49 provides means by which the frame 45 may be swung on its pivotal support to adjust the cutter 32 toward and from the path of the wood blocks, and also as means for holding said frame in its adjusted position.

A similar construction is employed in connection with the roughing cutter 31.

The cutters 3l and 32 are driven by belts 53 and 54, respectively, engaging pulleys fast on the spindles of said cutters, the pulley of cutter 32 being shown at 55, Fig. 3.

As shown in Fig. 8 the roughing cutter 31 comprises two disks 56 and 57 mounted upon the upper reduced end of the cutter spindle 43 the disk 53 fitting against a shoulder on said spindle and the disk 57 being held in position by a nut 58 fitted upon the upper threaded end of the spindle. The proximate faces of the disks 56 and 57 are formed with if-shaped transversely disposed grooves occupied by the correspondingly shaped edges of two cutting blades 59 whose outer ends are approximately the shape of the groove that is to be formed. This roughing cutter is set so as not to cut the groove to its full depth.

The finishing cutter 32 is similarly constructed except that in addition to two groove forming cutting blades its lower disk 56 is equipped with two radially disposed lip shaping cutters 60 which engage the lower portion of the block shown in Fig. 9. In this Fig. 9 the dotted lines show the path traveled by the blades 59 of this cutter 32, and as will be clear the cutters 60 are made of a'width to over lap this path and also extend below the plane of the top of carrier l.

lt will now be clear that since each wood block travels past the cut-ters 3l and 32 in a curved path, with the cutters inside thereof,

he groove 6l ofthe finished wood block (Fig. 7) and the end of the shank lip 62, will be arcuate, that is curved transversely of the block, and this is an important accomplishment of my machine. The reason for this is that practically all of the machines which operate upon the block, after grooving and concaving, are constructed withl gauges or positioning devices having a surface or surfaces, usually flat, to engage the breast end of the block. Therefore it has heretofore been the case that any irregularity of the surfaces 6l and 62 would cause improper positioning of the block in the machine and, therefore, imperfect heels would often be produced.

The same undesirable result would also sometimes be occasioned by the presence of chips, dust or the like between the breast end oi2 the block and the gauge or positioning device. On the other hand, 1when the block is made with a transversely concaved or curved groove 61 and shank lip G2 as by my machine the breast end ot the heel block will seat against the gauge or positioning device only at each side thereof; in most cases only at two points, one at each side of the block. rlhereifore, a block having its groove 6l or shank lip 62 irregularly shaped in the fashion that ordinarily occurs, Will, nevertheless, be as accurately positioned in the concaving and other machines, as will a block having a perfectly shaped groove and lip.

Not only does this feature of a curved groove and shank lip ai'iord the advantages just referred to, but it is also of importance for the reason that a heel having these curved portions is desirable in the practice of another invention of mine, relating` to the construction ot boots and shoes, which it is unnecessary to describe here. This invention is not limited to the construction shown.

What l claim is:

l. A machine 'for grooving heel blocks comprising relatively movable elements including a. work holder' and a rotary cutter having heel breast and shank lip forming portions, one said elements being movable past the other in a curved path lying in a plane transverse to the cutter axis to cause the cutter to 'i rm a transversely concave groove in the breast oi' the heel block and a shank lip having a concave end surface.

2. A machine tor grooving Wood heel blocks comprising a traveling carrier moving in a curved path; at least one Work holder including a tired part for moving the Work along with said carried, a movable part pivo-tally mounted upon said traveling carrier at a point in advance of said lined part so as to swing against the Work in the plane of movement ot said work; cutter means arranged Within the curved path of the Work holder, and means to cooperate with said Work holder part While the Work moves past said cutter to grip and release the Work.

A machine for grooving Wood heel blocks comprising a traveling carrier moving in a circular path; abutments secured to and movable with said carrier to engage and push the Work along; a plurality of Work holders mounted upon said carrier forward ot each abutment; a cutter inside and adj acent the circular path of the Work holders, and means includingr a stationary cam and resilient means to engage said cam for causing each Work holder yieldingly to move in a direction approximately at right angles to the direction ot movement of said abutments to grip the Work as said holder approaches said cutter and to cause said holder to release the Work after it has passed said cutter.

4. A machine for grooving Wood heel blocks comprising` a traveling carrier moving in a circular path and onto which the Wood blocks are placed preparatory to being operated upon; a plurality of Work holders mounted upon said carrier; a cutter inside of and adjacent the circular path of the Work holders; means for operating the Work holders to cause each to grip its block as the latter approaches said cutter and to release said block after it has passed and been operated upon by said cutter, and means including a cam for engaging and automatically positioning each block radially on the carrier during its movement toward said cutter and before it is gripped by its Work holder.

5. A machine for grooving Wood heel blocks comprising a traveling carrier moving in a circular path and onto which the Wood blocks are placed preparatory to being operated upon; a plurality of ivork holders mounted upon .said carrier, each of said Work holders having relatively fixed and movable parts; a cutter inside of and adjacent the circular path of the Work holders; means for operating the movable parts or" the Work holders to cause each to grip its block as the latter approaches said cutter and to release said block ai" `er it has passed and been operated upon by said cutter, and means yieldingly operated by the movable part of each Work holder for automatically positioning each block an- Oularly with respect to the axis of the carrier during its movement toward said cutter and before it is gripped by its Work holder.

(3. A machine constructed in accordance with claim l wherein the positioning means consists of a. stationarily supported block engaging cam gauge.

a. A machine constructed in accordance with claim wherein there is provided block positioning means for each Work holder and each said positioning means is operated by its work holder.

8. A machine tor grooving Wood heel blocks having, in combination, a rotatable carrier, a plurality of work holders mounted thereon, a cutter past which the carrier moves, a cam track tor operating and controlling said \vork holders, and means for stationarily supporting said cam track With provision 'for the sin'iultaneous adjustment of both ends of said track toward and from said carrier to adapt the machine to operate upon heel blocks of different heights.

9. A machine Jfor grooving heel blocks comprising a Work holder, rotary roughing and finishing cutters having conveXly cuived breL stcutting portions arranged Within said work holder to respectively rough and finish the breast of the heel, means to move Work iii a curved path past said cutters in a plane lying approximately at right angles to the axes of said cutters to cause the cutters to concave the heel block both transversely and vertically to form a heel breast, said concaved heel breast constituting a permanent positioning surface by Which to position said block accurately for subsequent operations of shaping the back and seat ot the heel.

10. A machine for grooving heel blocks comprising relatively movable elements including a Work holder and a rotary cutter means having convexly curved breast cutting edges for forming the heel breast. and means to move one of said elements in a curved path past the other in a plane lying approximately at right angles to the cutter axis to cause the cutter to form in a single operation a breast that is concave both transversely and perpendicularly of the heel.

1l. A machine for grooving Wood heel blocks comprising a traveling carrier; Work holders mounted thereon; a. cutter past which the carrier moves; means automatically to move a part of each Work holder to grip a block, and a Work positioner resiliently moved by the aforesaid movable part of each Work holder in a direction transverse to the gripping movement of the latter to position its block for engagement by its Work holder.

12. A machine for groving Wood heel blocks comprising a traveling carrier; a plurality ot Work holders each having a movable part pivotally mounted upon said carrier at a point in advance of the Work held thereby and capable of swinging substantially in the plane of the path ot movement ot the Work; a cutter past Which said Work holders are moved by said carrier; a stationary cam member arranged in the path ot movement of said holders, and a resilient follower Jfor each of said Work holders for engaging said stationary cam member and resiliently moving its holder into work holding position.

13. A machine Yfor grooving Wood heel blocks comprising a traveling carrier; a plurality of' Work holders each having a movable part pivotally mounted upon said carrier at a point in advance ot the Work held thereby and arranged to swing substantially in the plane of movement of the Work; a cutter past which said Work holders are moved by said carrier; a stationary cam member arranged in the path of movement of said holders to cause them to engage their respective heel blocks, and a Work positioner resiliently mounted upon each of said Work holders and arranged during the initial movements ot said Work holders toward work holding position to engage and position the Work relatively to its Work holder.

14. ln a machine of the character described, a movable Work carrier; relatively fixed angularly arranged members on said carrier for engaging tivo sides of the Work; relatively movable Work holding members arranged respectively to yieldingly maintain the Work in Contact With said angularly arranged members, and common actuating means for lsaid relatively movable Work holding members.

15. A machine for grooving heel blocks, comprising a Work holding member, and a. rotary Work shaping member having a convexly curved breast shaping eortion and a shank lip shaping portion, one ot said memers being movable past the other in curved path lyingin a plane approximately perpendicular to the axis ot the heel block to cause the Work vshaping member as an initial heel shaping operation upon said heel block to groove the heel breast transversely and longitudinally and simultaneously shape and transversely groove the shank lip portions of the heel.

16. A machine for grooving heel blocks having, in combination, a rotary cutter having heel breast and shank lip forming portions, a continuously movable Work carrier for presenting heel blocks to said cutter and moving them past it in a curved path lying in a plane transverse to the cutter axis to cause said cutter to form a transversely concaved groove in the breast of the heel and a shank lip having a concaved end surface, and means Aoperating' automatically With the movement ot said work carrier 'for securing to the latter heel blocks-presented at one side of said cutter and for releasing said blocks at the opposite side of said cutter after they have been operated upon by the latter.

17. A machine for grooving heel blocks having, incombination, a rot-ary cutter having a conveXly curved cutting edge including a breast shaping portion and a shank lip forming portion, and a continuously movable'vvork carrier for moving heel blocks past said cutter in a curved path lying in a plane transverse to the cutter axis to cause said cutter to form a transversely and vertically conca-vedv heel breast and a longitudinally projecting shank lip.

18. A machine for grooving heel blocks having, in combination, a rotary cutter having a conveXly curved cutting edge, a continuously movable Work carrier for moving heel blocks past said cutter in a curved path lying in a plane transverse to the cutter axis to cause said cutter to form a transversely and vertically concaved heel breast, and means operating automatically With the movement of said Work carrier for securing to the latter heel blocks presented at one side of said cutter and for releasing said blocks at the opposite side of said cutter after they have been operated upon by the latter.

19. A machine for shaping Wood heels having, in combination, a heel block holder, rotary eut-ter means for operating upon the heel block` mechanism for relatively moving said cutter means and holder for causing the former to operate upon said heel block, said cut-ter mea-ns being so shaped and so mounted relative tothe path of such relative movement as to form the heel breast surface and shank lip and to concave the end of the shank lip.

20. A machine for shaping Wood heels having, in combination, rotary cutter means for operatingupon the heel block, a continuously movable Work carrier for ino-ving heel blocks past said cutter means for causing the latter to operate upon said block, said cutter means being so shaped and so mounted relative to the path of movement of the block caused by said carrier to form the heel breast surface and shank lip and to concave the end of the shank lip, and means operating automatically with the movement of said carrier for securing' to the latter heel blocks presented at one side of said cutter means and for releasing said blocks at the opposite side oi' said cutter means after they have been operated upon by the latter.

2l. A machine for grooving heel blocks having, in combination, a. rotary cutter having a convexly curved cutting edge including a breast shaping portion and a shank lip forming portion, a continuously movable Work carrier for moving heel blocks past said cutter in a curved path lying in a plane transverse to the cutter axis to cause said cutter to form a transversely and vertically concaved heel breast terminating' in a longitudinally projecting shank lip having a concave end surface, clamps carried by said Work carrier for securing` heel blocks thereto, and a stationary cam means cooperating with said clamps to cause the same to secure to said Work carrier heel blocks presented at one side of said cutter and to release said blocks at the opposite side of said cutter after they have been operated upon' by the latter.

In testimony whereof I have ailixed my signature.

NICHOLAS L. GULLIFORD. 

